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March 23, 2008

Is that a Twitter in Your Pocket?

I have a theory why there are so many of the 30+ crowd and
so few of the young adult crowd on twitter. Because kids did chat rooms back in
the day. And the response time on those was far faster. And you could go over
140 characters. And they still ended up
kind of sucking and fading away.

I wouldn’t consider micro-blogging to be a more primitive
form of blogging necessarily, but mostly just an unnecessary addendum. I get
the one to many broadcasting benefit, but that’s not different at
all than the oh so 2006 regular blog that actually has space for a complete
thought. Twitter is built on the back of the “life is in the details” approach
to blogging. It’s the Seinfeld of social networking. One big show
about nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I love Seinfeld, but there are very few that
would be able to pull it off.

Micro-blogging is probably here to stay, but I think as
an addendum to instant messaging (like it is already on google talk), or
something to add flavor to facebook or myspace (as it already does). But as a
stand alone? I just can’t see it.

And yes, you’ll see me jump over there from time to time. Sure there are usually some good comments coming through from folks like drew,
lewis, armano (or rusty), and a few others. But I just assume follow the
blog, I guess. It’s easier to keep up with.

9 Comments

One thing I have found Twitter useful for is receiving news. If you follow a decent news Twitter you can have updates sent to you via SMS when you are away from the internet.

I have also integrated the service into my blog to provide a Facebook-esque status updates service, which works to an adequate effect, but I don't really see its functionality extending beyond that. For me, it doesn't really work as a standalone network, it's not substantial enough.

Uh, as someone who has used chat for over 10 years, I can say that the appeal of Twitter has less to do with chat and more to do with managing a network of hundreds of followers. Easier to share links on Twitter then blogging them. More gratifying too!

2nd- I think I agree with you. I flirt with Twitter addiction from time to time, but then I fall back to my own blog as well as those of the folks I really enjoy reading and sharing quality time with... even yours for some reason.

I think if Twitter went past the 140 character thing, I might be more in love with it. It is very hard for a wordy dork like me to keep things brief... as we are all too aware.

Don't get me wrong, I dig Twitter and have a lot of fun with it but I feel far less guilty for missing a a few days on Twitter than I do missing a few days of posting on my blog. Heck, I even feel more guilt about not doing a podcast in more than a month (but one is coming soon... I swear it).

You're right that the "medium" is here to stay, but I would argue the reach and impact of it; will we ever find ourselves talking about the next big, important Twitter-er? Me thinks not...

LOL ... I am agreeing with Mr Masi ;) I don't mind a Twitter from time to time -- and it can be immensely useful to tap into a network at short notice. Having said that, I think it is interesting because it allows an outlet for this idea of bi-directional play that I am thinking on at the moment. In fact, Twitter is a great example of "kidsperience" that I am just about to post on ...

Am I the only person alive that didn't love Seinfeld? I think I must be.

Twitter is a flow where a blog is a journal. I receive value from both. I don't think the question is whether "twitter" is here to say, just more instant and quick info, vs. longer, more thoughtful pieces. It's not like one has to choose as some items only need 140, others need a few paras.

Just my take.

Cannot wait (!) to see you in 11...I'll try and have you bump into Seinfeld (tho' he's so phoney his own show didn't even tape here, unlike SATC or Law & Order).

I think you are onto something. For us old farts engaged to sticky fingers, IM is not an option. My fingers can negotiate tiny keys. Like you, I find much of Twitter numbing to the senses, but I log in once or twice a day and know there are always a few who will engage me beyond telling me that they have to go take a crap.

Cam - I love that you struggle to keep it under 140 characters. That makes me laugh. I've always explained Twitter to the uninitiated as a global IM session that people use for sharing information. At least in our field, it seems that most avid users spend more time on breaking news, blogs, links than trivial conversation.